Monday, August 26, 2013

Architect David Matero designed the Lean Too House as an energy-efficient and affordable 2,000 square-foot spec home, with a projected LEED Gold certification, for a small development in Brunswick. We asked the Daniels about their experience as the first Lean Too homeowners.

Photo courtesy David Matero

Q: What do you like most about your home’s efficient features?
A: We like the many high-efficiency windows, especially the corner windows that are so unique. When we Skype with our family they always comment on how bright it looks in the house, even on a cold winter day. When we come home after being away, the house is still at 60 degrees thanks to the passive solar gain and well insulated R-38 walls and R-60 roof. Within 5-7 minutes of turning up the heat, it’s at temperature and stays there for some time. In the summer months, the Douglas Fir sun shades over the windows keep it cool, even when it’s 90 degrees outside, so we don’t need A/C.Q: What helpful things did you learn during the construction process?
A: The home is so top quality in the design that we felt compelled to go with higher end, energy-efficient appliances and finishes, so we could have used more allowances than we had initially. We also found that snow slides off the metal roof and hits the sun shades in winter, so they put snow stops on the roof and that really helped.

Photo courtesy David Matero

Q: What’s next?
A: We plan to add a sunroom/hot tub room as the house was designed for easy additions, and it’s sited and set up for solar panels whenever we’re ready.

About Bright-Minded Home

This blog, and its companion column in Maine Home + Design magazine, offers an investigation into the art of creating healthy, beautiful, and energy efficient homes. We talk to people who share their secrets with us. We look at homes that are providing examples. We learn tricks of the trade. This is also a blog about what home means to me. I share my experiences in a Platinum LEED house in Maine and muse about why the search to find home is so important for us all.